Podcast appearances and mentions of Deborah N Archer

You know that phrase “born on the wrong side of the tracks”? Well, there's something to it: highways, roads, and sidewalks across America have, for decades now, been racial and economic dividers. And these thoroughfares don't just reflect inequality—they continue to play an active role in it. This week, W. Kamau Bell is joined by Deborah N. Archer and Sister Helen Jones for a conversation about transportation infrastructure in the United States, and what a safer, more equitable system could look like. Deborah N. Archer is President of the ACLU, and a tenured professor and associate dean at New York University School of Law. She's also the author of the new book Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality. Sister Helen Jones is a community organizer and activist in the Watts neighborhood of Southern California. At Liberty is a production of the ACLU, and hosted by W. Kamau Bell. This episode was executive produced by Jessica Herman Weitz and Gwen Schroeder for the ACLU, and W. Kamau Bell, Kelly Rafferty, PhD, and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD for Who Knows Best Productions. It was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA. At Liberty is edited and produced by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get.

“It was so important to be apart of community. To find strength in each other. To know that on the days when I can't move forward, someone is going to take up the baton and move forward for me. “ Professor, Lawyer and ACLU President Deborah Archer sat down to speak with me about some of her earliest moments and how they shaped her desire to fight for equality.   Deborah N. Archer is a Professor of Clinical Law and Co-Faculty Director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law. Deborah is also the President of the ACLU and a leading expert in civil rights, civil liberties, and racial justice. She is an award-winning teacher and legal scholar whose articles have appeared in leading law reviews. Deborah has also offered commentary for numerous media outlets, including MSNBC, National Public Radio, CBS, Monocle, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.  Deborah previously worked as an attorney with the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., where she litigated in the areas of voting rights, employment discrimination, and school desegregation. Deborah is also a former chair of the American Association of Law School's Section on Civil Rights and the Section on Minority Groups. She previously served as Chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, the nation's oldest and largest police oversight agency.

Deborah N. Archer is the Jacob K. Javits Professor at NYU and Professor of Clinical Law at the NYU School of Law. She also directs the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, and the Civil Rights Clinic at the NYU School of Law. Archer is a nationally recognized expert in civil rights, civil liberties, and racial justice. In January 2021, she was elected national board president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the first Black person to hold the position in the ACLU’s 101-year history. Before the board presidency of the ACLU, Archer was a member of the ACLU’s executive committee and served as general counsel to the board. She is a former chair of the American Association of Law Schools’ Section on Civil Rights and Section on Minority Groups. For many years, she served on the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, the body that investigates police misconduct. She was also a member of the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she litigated in the areas of voting rights, employment discrimination, and school desegregation. President Hamilton speaks with Professor Archer about her career as a civil rights attorney and scholar, her projects at NYU , her new role at the ACLU, and her view of the next steps—legal and cultural—toward the dismantling of racism within American institutions and society.

Deborah N. Archer received her JD from Yale Law School where she was also awarded the Charles G. Albom Prize. She’s held several esteemed titles throughout her career, and New York Law Journal has recently recognized her as one of New York's “Top Women in the Law.” She is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Law at NYU, Co-Faculty Director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, and Director of the Civil Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law. She sat down with Jonathan to explore what it was like to be a Black American before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and how remnants of Jim Crow laws continue to plague our country. Follow Deborah on Twitter @DeborahNArcher, @RaceNYU, and  @NYULaw. To find out more about Deborah’s work, visit https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/race-inequality-law.    Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.   Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.   Catch Jonathan on Queer Eye streaming now on Netflix.